Adjustable cam mechanism



July l1, 1933. N DE|SH 1,917,435

ADJUSTABLE CAM MECHANISM Original Filed Aug. 20, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l i 3 3o n j m l- 3| v Illllll s! i me/Moz Mel Dez'sch 9543 `7z4 MMM July 1l, 1933. N. Dl-:lscH Y ADJUSTABLE CAM MECHANISM '2o'. 19:50 2 sheets-sheet ..2

[V061 ez'sch ot' said flexible member byY means of an opera'- Patentecl July 11, 1933 Noni. nnrson, 'or WASHINGTON,- nrs'rnro'r orf COLUMBIA, Assrenonor'oNn-Hnnr To Triorfrss n. vs'roivir, JR.,

nnausfrsnriri CAM Mnorrnmsiu originen :replication sied august 20,1930, semi no. 4,776,641. Divided ami uns 1932. v. serial' tion is to provide a Cam device including a support, preferably of disk form, and a flexible member in the {ern} of a stripor ribbon secured to the face of the support ata plurality oit points by retaining meinbers,'wliich :i re 'lirietionally engaged With andV individually movable relativelyto said supporawliereby stable changes may be made in the'shape 'I tor engaging the 'flexible member.

The invention is illustrated in the aecompanyinl drawings, in Wliiohz- K 1 isa plan view, partly in section, oi a three gang condenser involving tlienovel earn Fig. 2 is a section on line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fie' a section on line 3 3 oi, Fig. l.'

is a fragmentary front elevation oiv i the disks or face plates and the asso-v ciated eam with the moans for-mounting the latter. Y f

5 is a rear elevation oil the `mechanism' shown in Fig. 4. l Y l Fifi'. 6 is a fragmentary section through the las@ plate, illus 'ating` the VConstruction and arrangement oli-the cam and one Yof the runners.

v7 is sie ein a similar View showing` the form runners to prevent movement of the vcam in a direction' normal to the face plate. i l.

i ig. 8 is asimilar'vietv showing` an inter-,- mediate runner and the mode of loekingthe saine to the cani to prevent vmovement of the cainin the direction of its length.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates the usual 'housing or easingl now employed as a shield for the condenser or eondensers, on the ends ot which casing there ,are mounted plates iand 6 in which are adjustablyinount1- ed the journal bearings Sand 5 for the'shaft 2 carrying; the rotors ot the Condenser, one end ol" the shaft having mounted thereon Y application. filed J'uly 26, Nq. 624,338." Y'

the usual drum or di'a17 provided vvith the customary seale 'markings or indicia.

. The rotor ofeaeh condenser unit'oonsistso'f Y a series of plates 10 rigidly secured to a sleeve 11, which is pinned to the shaft 2. The eo-V operating stator element or member of each Condenser eomprses'a` series of plates 12 se',-l eured to a base 13, Which, in turn,V is fastened to the easing by means of a spring braoketll.- The plates -or leaves of the stator and rotor are so disposed that the plates of the respec tive members alternate in various degrees'.y

the elements' of the condenser into cooperative'relation. The statorA element of 4each o ondenser is not strietlylstatio, but is so oon- Y of overlap, when the rotor is operatedito bring strueted and arrangedasto besusceptible of f a limited ran-ge of movement toward and. from the rotor. ported at one end by a springbraclretll and the otherend of the stator is provided Withv an insulating post or foot 16 secured vto the` AsV stated, the stator is sup-k oross bar15 of the. stator, which post 16 rests Y I on the short arm-of a lever 17, which is piv-` oted-ona shaft or rod 18 fixed to the ends off thecasing 1, the longer arm ofthe lever eX- the front of the easing. The several levers' 17, which are assoeiated'with the separate condensers,`a ie spaced on the -shat'tor supporting,` rod 18 bymeans of sleeves 19, sothat 'said levers arelretainedinproperrelation to 'tending out'through the slotted openingin engagethe insulatingr'iosts 16 upon which the endsrof the respeetive stators rest. e

apparent that moving the freeendsof the From ythe foregoing description, it Will be or" the Corresponding stators into greater orv lesser overlapping relation-ivithl-the eoaetingv rotors and Ytherefore vary the eapaeities of.-

the respective eonden'sers.

' vlninalring adjustment for a given'olial set- :ting (as, for example 650 kiloeyeles, asindicated on. the dial) .the .operator manipulates the three levers 17, moving` them ,up anddown'g until ,a maximum response 'fisseeuredVv TheY usual procedure Will-be to progress `With the corrective adjustment of the levers from thev antenna oirouit tothe detector circuit usually from left to right, lthe Voperation preferably being performed twice in rotation, due tothe slight retroactive mutual tuning action of the circuits. This adjustment of the several condensers is somewhat analogous toa vernier7 adjustment in its ei'ect, but, in the present case', when once made, it is permanent for a given setting, that is to say, if the tuning dial is turned to some other setting and subsequently turned back to the reading of the first setting, the sub-circuits will be in perfect accord. ln other Words, when the several levers 17 have been adjusted to move the stators ot thescveral condensers to eiiect the desired compensating capacity adjustment of 5 the respective condensers, further manipulation of the levers in the ordinary operation of the set will; not be necessary,`until and unless some Vchange in the constants of the set necessary or desirable.

. Y A manual adjustment oitl the several condensers by operation of the levers 17 While effective tor a Given dial setting, would not be similarly eiective for another and different dial setting, Wherefore, 'in order to insure the proper correctional adjustments of the stators of vthe several condensers throughout the range ofthe dialV setting, the apparatus is provided with special ymeans for automatically effecting the correctionaladjustments of thes'everal stators by the corresponding levers, Which are operated yby adjustable cams rotatable Withthe rotors, the desired adjustment ofthe cams being effected by the initial manual `adjustment of the stators by their operating levers. To this end, there is associated with cachot the condensers a face plate or disk 80, which is iixed to the sleeve 11 of the corresponding rotor' and,rtherefore, rotates simultaneously with the rotor. Each disk or face plate 8O is provided with a series of radial slots 81, in each of which is slidably v mounted a runner or support, the several runners serving to hold an adjustable cam et() in its variouspositions of adjustment. Said cam comprises a flexible stripol metal, Which is locked to the face plate against movement in a longitudinal direction and also in a directionn'ormal tothe surtaceot the faceplate or disltfbut is capableof beingadjusted radially with respect to the'disk, in Whole or in part. Eacliof the runners includes a body portion 3Q. engaging a Vcorresponding slot 31 fin theldisk` with oppositely disposed ears`33,

cam Astrip '401 is engaged,- as more particu? .larly 'illustratedin-Fig. 6. yEach of the 5 end runnersv i's"provided with a Yslot 35" malte a readjustment of the statorelements 33. engaging the facel of thet disk, a looped.l

closed at its top, Which prevents movement of' the cam in a direction normal to the surface ot Vthe disk-30, as illustratedjin Fig. 7. The middle runner is vprovided with two hookvlike extensions a, V30a overlying the slotr 35, Which extensions engage a slot or opening 41 in the mid section ot the cam L10, thereby preventing any movement ot the cam in the direction of its length. j

As stated, a disk or face plate 8O is associated With each of the rotors and moves therewith in its various adjustments. Each of the levers 17 is provided With a slotted ear or lug 20, which is in straddling engagement with the corresponding cam 40, so that, when a given lever 17 ismoved up or downA to et. feet the proper correctional adjustment of the stator with respect to the rotor, the corre-A sponding cam l0 is simultaneously adjusted locallyin a radial direction with respect vto the dish by the manual movement of the engaging lever and this adjustment of the cam will be maintained by the springs 84, which loclrthe runnersin frictionalengagementwith the disk 30. This adjustmentjof the cam fora given setting of the condenser and the correctional adjustment of the stator thereof bythe lever 17 Will insure the reproduction of the correctional adjustment, when the same setting is repeated, by the cam moving the lever tothe same extent that it was moved initially in the manu-al actuation of the levers,l thereby securing the proper correctional adjustment of each stator at the corresponding setting.

Although the invention has been described With particular reference to the initial manual correction al adjustments of the stator elements l'by means of the levers 17, which latter also set or adjust the cams to effect the subsequent correctional adjustmentsA automatically, 'bythe cams acting through the levers to move the stators, it will be apparent that the cams 40 mayI be adjusted manually,l in the lirst instance, to effect the correctimial movements of the stators relatively to the rotors,the operative connections between the cams and the stators Yinvolving levers, such as 17, or any similar means. 5'

Furthermore, although the cam device has been described .as a component part ot the operating mechanism of a variable condenser, such application merely eXemplaryjof oneV of the manv uses to Which said cam mecha l nism maybe put.

-W'hatl claim is: v d

l. An adjustable cam mechanism, including a support, a flexible'member comprising' the working face ofthe cam, .retaining members provided witlimeans Jfor.l supporting-said flexible'inember ata plurality of pointsso that one edgevofsaid flexible.- memberl is free for contacting a cam follower, said retaining member beingmounted on said supportselely'by friction means whereby theyniaybesuc-f -Y taining members may be moved to different positions to change thesliape of said flexible` member, and are constrained ,toliold their position after having been inovedi j 3. An adjustable cam mechanism, compris- 'ing a flexible ribbon-like-strip, a plurality 'of retaining members slotted to receive s aid flexible strip, said retaining members being disposedvat a plurality of points along the length. of saidstrip, one edge Aof said strip extending above said retaining members to allow of contact with ja. `cam fellower,lasnpport-having slots to receive said retaining members and to allow said members move-v ment in the direction of said slots, and re,

silient means to hold said retainingzmembers within saidv slotsand to provide friction between said retaining members andl said'support, said retaining members being held to saidk support solely by the frictionalforc generated by said resilient means. 4l. An ad'ustable cani mechanism, comprisin a flexibleribbon-like stiip incorporating' the working face of said cam, a pluralityiof retaining members slotted to receive said flexible strip, said retaining members being disposed'at a plurality of points along-the length of said strip', a support havingslots to receivefsaid retaining members and to allow said membersmovement in the direction of said slots, springs to hold said retaining members within said slots and to provide friction between said retaining members and said support, and means continuously con--` Ytacting said strip to apply force thereto 'for ,moving said retaining members, to allow adthe working face' justinent of the contour of of said cam. Y, Y

5. The combination of a support, an adjustable cam comprising a flexiblememberr lmounted on said support solely 'by frictional means, a force-transmitting-member in .con-l tinuous engagement with said flexible member, said, .force-'transmitting Ymember being in; operative connection with the load to be movedy by said cam, the normal load carried by said force-transmitting member producinga force at the point of Contact of said vforce-transmitting member' with said flexible member which is smaller than the frictionaly v forces holding said flexible member to said support, whereby said cam retains its shape` during its normal operation, but-,can be made to change'its contour to allow adjustment Vof, said cam` when-a force is applied tosaid frictio-nal r force acting between said? flexible member and said support.r 1 6.' An adjustablev camzmechanism including a support, a flexible member, retaining members provided with means for supportpoints7 said l, retaining members b'eing mountedon said .support solely byfriction means whereby they maybe shifted to change i the curvature of said cam, and means continuously contacting said flexible member to apply force thereto for moving'said' retaining members to allow ustment of the' contour of the working faceof said cam. l

7 4The combination of'an adjustable cam comprising a iiexible member .parts of which i areindependentlymovable to `different positionsfby directapplicationxof force` to cause a change of contourof'saidcam, said flexible member continuously contacting an engaging membery to cause said .engaging member to follow the.;contour of saidfflexible member whensaid iiexiblemember is moved relatively l to said engaging inemberin accordancewithj the contour of saidl fiexible member; said engaging member also engagingl said flexible member to move said flexible memberin a` direction transversely ofthe .length of saidl flexible. member when said-engaging member is moved independently of saidiiexible mem-"A ber iiiafdirection transverselyv of the length? vof said flexible member, whereby adjustment Y i ing' said'V flexible member at a plurality of j of thel contour of said'iiexible member is" v effected; Y

8. Anadjustable cani mechanism, comprising a' fiex-i'ble member, a support, retaining members provided Vwith means-.for holding'- said flexible; member 'at a plurality of points, said retainingmembers being also in gripping engagement with said support and movable with respect to said support to allow adjustment ofthe contour of vsaid iiexible member, the magnitude of the frictional force exerted in said gripping engagement and tending-toy prevent movement of said port being in the normal Aoperation of said cam greater than the workingforce sustained by said retaining members, but less than a specially applied force brought to act on said iis Y retaining members with yrespect to said sup;

. force-transmitting `member greater: than rthe ,89

, ping engagement With saidsupport and movable Withrespect to said support to allovsTv adjustment of the contour of ysaid flexible member, Vthe magnitude of the frictional force exerted in/said gripping engagement and tending' to prevent movement of said re- Vta iuing members With respect to said support being in the normal operation of said cam greater than the Working force sustained by said retaining members, but less than a specially applied force brought to act on said' retaining-members to move them relatively yto said lsuppoi't to alter the contour of said flexible member to adjust said cam, land means to apply force to said retaining members to move them to a new position of adjustment.

,10. An adjustable cam mechanism'comprising a plate suppoi't, guiding slots insaid support, runners fitting within said slots and bearing against said plate, said runners being provided with resilient means to exert a gripping action on saidv plate, grooves in said runners extending in afdii-ection perpendicular to the plane of said plate, a ribbon'like flexible` member fitting Within said grooves and extending above said runners to allow Contact With a cam follower, at least one of said runners being provided with means to Ahold said flexible strip Within the groove of said runner.

, 11. An adjustable cam mechanism coniprising adisk-shaped plate support, *radial guiding slots in said support, runners fitting Within said slots, said runners being proy vided With extensions contacting one face of said support, springs attached to said runners and exerting pressure against the opposite face of said support to vcause a gripping action between sai-d Yrunners and said support,

` grooves in said runners extending in a direction perpendicular to said plate, ay spring strip'ifittingiwithin said grooves and extend-4 ingbeyondsaid grooves to allow contact with acam follower, said spring strip being attached to at least one of said runners-to hold said strip Within the groove of saidrunner.

12. An adjustable cam mechanism including a support, -a flexible member having parallel and opposed Working faces, retaining members provided Withmeans `for supporting said flexible member aty a plurality of points softhat one edge of saidl flexible member extends beyond said ietainifngmem# bers, said retaining members. being mounted on said support by`friction means .whereby they may be shiftedy to change the curvature of said cam, and a cam follower contacting the two-opposite faces of said' flexible member. Y

13. -An adjustable kcam mechanism including a support, a flexible member having parallel and opposed Working-faces, retain# ing members provided with means for supporting said flexibleY member at a plurality of points so'that one edge of=said flexible member extends beyond saidr retainingmembers, said retaining members being mounted on said support by friction means whereby they may be shifted to changethe curvature of said cam, and an engaging Vmember contacting the two'op'posite faces of said flexible member, said engaging member being movedl by saidcam when said cam is moved, and' shifting said retaining .members to change the curvature of said cam-When said engag`V ing member is moved.independently of saidl flexible member. A

14. An adjustable'cam mechanism 'includ`v ing as'upport,f'a flexible memberliaving parallel and'opposed Working faces, retain-v ing` members provided VWith means for sup-l porting said flexible member .atV a plurality of points so that one edge of said flexible member-extends beyond said retaining mem-v bers, saidlretaining membersvbeing mounted on' said support by friction means whereby v they may be shifted to change" the curvature of said cam, a pivotedlever, a slotted lug attached to said lever, said slot receiving the free edge of ysaid flexible member, said lever having mechanical connection to parts to be moved by said cam when said 'oa-mis moved, said-lever being also provided With a handle, whereby it may be moved independently of said camto change the lcurvature of said cam.

I affix my signature'.`

Intestimony vwhereof NOEL DEISCH. 

